The Life That Could Have Been
by SuperCess
Summary: 10 years later, Usui finds himself back in Japan but a lot of things has changed over the years and the biggest change of it all was seeing Misaki with another man. - "I imagined if I didn't take that flight, what would my world be like?". (Story is told from Usui's standpoint).


**A/N: **It's been a long time since I wrote a fic, right? Really, this one-shot just came to me when I was bored at work and I was listening to some music. It's not anything special but I really just wanted to write it down. I want to write more ToraSaki and I think this counts even though it's told in Usui's standpoint.

Enjoy..? :)

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**The Life That Could Have Been**

* * *

The hustle and bustle of Narita airport seemed like a welcoming party for him. Even though he stood alone with no one there to pick him up, it still felt like he was being welcomed home after 10 years of being away from it all. Usui felt like everything was still the same no matter how different they may seem to be.

Slowly walking out of the arrival area, he looked around, trying to spot familiar faces which is highly unlikely as the airport was huge and there were thousands of people in it. There was hope in the back of his mind that maybe—just maybe—someone was waiting for him to return. It's been 10 years since he last saw her and he knew it was a long shot but he hoped she was still there, waiting for him. Of course, he didn't expect her to but there was nothing wrong with hoping.

Just as he was on his way to where his ride was at, someone rushed past him though he wasn't quick enough to evade—causing a painful shoulder collision with the person in question.

"Oh, sorry!" He heard her say. Usui was turned around and was just about to ask if she was okay but was surprised when he saw who it was.

It felt like his eyes were playing games on him; is it because he kept thinking about her that he was hallucinating at the airport at that moment? Because he was pretty sure that this was her. Ayuzawa Misaki right in the flesh, looking different as she was sporting a shorter hair and she definitely grew taller and matured.

He wouldn't even believe it if not for what he heard afterwards.

"Misaki! You're going to anger a lot of people if you keep rushing like that!"

Usui turned around and saw a very pregnant Hanazono Sakura, another familiar face from Seika High School. It was as if a miracle happened and he was imagining things but no, there was a 0.01% chance of meeting Ayuzawa and yet here she was, staring right at him in the face looking no less surprised than he was.

"Ayuzawa." He finally managed to get out. Misaki blinked, not able to say anything for a few seconds and Usui heard a gasp from Sakura behind him.

It took Misaki a few moments to compose herself and get her bearings back before she forced a surprised smile. "Usui. Wow. It's really...great seeing you."

Usui saw it on her face, she was battling her thoughts and he was glad that he could still read her clearly even after all these years. Right now, all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her still but they weren't in that relationship anymore, not after he took that flight to England 10 years ago. He knew he was at fault, for not trying harder to get out of the Walker's grasp.

"Hanazono. Kaga. It's good to see you all." He acknowledged Sakura and Shizuko as well who just casually appeared beside the other woman, earning himself a small smile from them both.

"Did you just get back from England? It's been what, 10 years?" Shizuko nonchalantly said, still the same straightforward woman that he knew.

"Yeah, who knew we'd meet under this circumstance?" Usui said, directing his gaze to Misaki who was so distracted that he felt somewhat put off. Clearly, she had better things to do than be talking to him. "How are you, Ayuzawa?" He said and mentally kicked himself, since when was he awkward in front of her?

Misaki smiled a genuine smile at him this time, "I'm doing great. I hope you are too." She said meaningfully and Usui could finally feel the distance between them. "I'd seriously love to catch up but I'm supposed to be—" Her phone rang and she jumped, rushing to answer it. She held up a finger at them and excused herself.

She was really within earshot and despite the loud buzz of the airport, he could hear her speaking on her phone, "I told you to be here a day early!"

Usui watched her talk animatedly on the phone, trying to remember when the last time she saw her like this. The small and sincere smile that she made while talking on the phone didn't escape his eyes either. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask and so many words he wanted to say but it all had to wait.

"She didn't change much, did she?" Usui observed as he felt Sakura and Shizuko stand next to him. Sakura smiled and nodded, rubbing her baby bump.

"Same old Misaki." Sakura said. "She's a diplomat now, always busy and always everywhere. She just got back yesterday from Africa actually." She supplied. Usui felt like he really missed a lot on his life and could just nod at Sakura. He also felt that they were itching to tell him something but were being on the fence about it.

Shizuko spoke up, "I don't know what's on your mind at the moment but are you sure you want to be here right now?" She asked straightforwardly and Usui knew what she meant. He also knew what to expect.

Misaki was definitely here for someone and it wasn't him. He just happened to be there right at that moment. Usui ignored the nagging feeling that he should leave; he really was never one to give up easily.

As if on cue, Misaki pocketed her phone and turned towards the arrival area with her hands on folded across her chest, exerting an aura of being seriously pissed. She walked towards somebody and standing right there was someone Usui never even imagined seeing.

"Igarashi!" Misaki clenched her fist and it made its way towards the man's smug-looking face. "You're late!" Her fist flew to Tora's face but he was able to block it just fine. "We agreed to get back yesterday, you idiot!"

"Ah, what a great way to welcome me back home." Tora quipped, gently pulling her towards him so they were standing few inches away from each other. Misaki blushed a deep red, a combination of anger and embarrassment.

"Don't you dare or I'm going to kick you so hard, you won't be walking for days." Misaki threatened and Tora could only laugh in return, opting to kiss her on the forehead instead of his original plan of putting on an extreme public display of affection.

"Violence is not cute, woman." Tora replied, letting her go and flicking her softly on the forehead. Misaki rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not trying to be cute, asshole." Misaki retorted, not backing down. Tora burst out laughing again, earning a punch in the arm from Misaki.

In Usui's mind, it wasn't possible that this was happening but it was. He saw how Misaki smiled and accepted the kiss and he couldn't help but feel a sting in his heart. He heard Sakura laugh and Shizuko sigh at what apparently was a normal sight for them to see. The two of them walked towards the pair, leaving Usui watching not far away.

"Alright you two, we don't want a spectacle in the airport. My baby is not ready for the stress that it will cause." Sakura laughed, her hand on her bump. Tora gave a small wave at them, acknowledging their presence.

"Look, my friends don't even give a shit about me." Tora said, pointing out the fact that the ones that came were from Seika and not from Miyabigaoka. They all shrugged and let it go.

"Shall we go? I can't believe were the ones that aren't there yet." Misaki sighed.

Usui was watching all these when he saw Shizuko point towards his direction, he realized how pitiful he must have looked standing there, staring at them. Upon seeing him, Tora's eyes lit up and a smirk appeared on his face. Usui noticed how Misaki elbowed him slightly as if warning him to be on his best behavior.

They made their was towards him; Usui will do anything to wipe the smirk off of Tora's face if he could. But he knew he couldn't.

"Look who's here! I didn't know I warranted the presence of royalty." Tora said, Usui was fighting to keep himself calm and collected. He could see Misaki's hold tighten on Tora's arm but the latter didn't even flinch. "Let's walk, shall we? We're kind of in a rush. You should come with us." He offered.

Usui was dragged by Igarashi and, wanting to be with Misaki for as long as he could to have a chance to talk, he let himself be dragged and walked along with them towards god-knows-where. Misaki was looking like she could kill someone but was trying not to make a scene.

* * *

"I take it you just came back from England?" Tora asked as they got in the car. Misaki threw a fit upon seeing the limosine that Igarashi arranged because he was being a spoiled brat again but she couldn't complain any longer seeing as there were 5 of them.

Usui tried hard not to tear the two of them apart as they were sitting together, hand in hand, and he was sitting across from them. "Yeah, I never imagined seeing you guys at the airport though. Must be my lucky day." He said, knowing that he sounded sarcastic.

"Why'd you come back?" Tora asked, raising an eyebrow. Misaki fiddled with her phone, busying herself and detaching herself from the conversation between the two men.

"I guess I wanted to see Japan because I missed it." Usui said, staring pointedly at Misaki who made the wrong decision of glancing up at that moment and connecting gazes with Usui. She nodded as if not understanding the underlying meaning to his words.

Tora didn't miss a beat as he said, "Maybe Japan didn't miss you back. 10 years changed a lot of it." The retort earned a snort from Shizuko who covered it up by coughing.

"I—"

"Ah! Aoi-kun!" Misaki suddenly burst out, holding her phone to her ear. "I know, I know. Yes. I'm sorry. We're on our way. Don't start without us!" She basically screamed into her phone. She glared at Tora, "You talk to him. I don't deserve this, I wasn't the one who was late." She shoved the phone into Tora's hand.

"What?" Tora mouthed at her and he rolled his eyes, taking the phone. "Yeah? Yeah, yeah. We're cutting it. Don't cut the ribbon without us, your aunt is going to kill you. We're almost there anyway, just around the corner. Alright. Whatever." He said as he cut off the line.

"You're going to do all the explaining." Misaki told him as they turned the corner and reached Maid Latte. She dusted her pants and got ready to step out as they stopped.

Usui noticed that they stopped at Maid Latte and across from it was a new shop with a lot of people gathering around it. It was called "Butler Cafe" and he followed everyone's lead. They got out of the limosine and all eyes turned to them.

"Igarashi! Misaki! How can you be late on the day of your shop's opening?!" Aoi scolded them and, being taller than Misaki now, she could just glare up at him and point at Tora.

"Tell that to this guy. I told him to come a day early so he's not too tired when he gets here but no," She turned to him. "He's a freaking workaholic. Let's see who crashes like a rag doll to bed later."

Usui's ears perked up at that. Bed? Are they living together now? He really wanted to ask a lot of questions but before he could, the small event was happening and Maki was speaking at the front of it all, doing the things that Tora should be doing. He explained that this was a joint venture between Maid Latte and was the idea of Misaki that's finally come to fulfillment.

Tora stepped up at that moment and said, "We would also like to acknowledge the presence of a friend who just arrived today from England, Usui Takumi himself." He clapped and all attention were directed towards him. Those who knew him and their history gasped, being really busy, they didn't notice him there at all as he tried to stay low.

Misaki pushed Tora away from the ribbon, saying "Thank you everyone for coming and we hope you'd keep us in your favor. It's time to cut the ribbon!" And they did, both of the owners .

When they did, everyone clapped and the smile that spread on Misaki's face was so geniune that Usui couldn't help but be proud of her achievement. He watched as Misaki turned to Tora, giving him a thumbs up and finally enveloping him into a hug. He could feel some gaze land on him as this happened and he kept his face blank, clapping along with everybody.

* * *

Everyone in the shop was busy but the owners and the VIP guests—meaning their friends and family—were in the office at the 2nd floor of the shop, having fun. Apparently, Tora made sure that they've hired a decent amount of employees and trained them well before opening the shop. Also, Maid Latte was closed for the day.

"So you're a doctor now?" Shintani had been talking to him for the past hour and he was answering with the least enthusiastic voice that he could muster. The guy have matured and wasn't itching to punch him every time he sees him. He guessed that they all did.

"Yeah. They wanted me to cure the Duke, so I did." He said, looking over at Misaki who was laughing with Tora next to her, looking bored but contented.

Shintani saw his gaze and sighed. "She's moved on, man, 10 years _is _a long time." He told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know." Usui said, longingly staring at Misaki who was now sitting beside Tora with the latter's arm draped around her shoulder. She was laughing at whatever Erika was telling her. "Are they—?" He paused, rethinking his words. "Do you think she'll talk to me if I ask?"

"Of course she would, she's not heartless. Just—you know how that guy is," Shintani nodded towards Tora's direction. "He's matured but he can be a prick when he wants to, so just take it easy."

Usui nodded, forming a resolve. "Is he taking good care of her?" He couldn't help but ask.

"You'd have to ask her that." Shintani replied, standing up and excusing himself to go to Suzuna. Usui drank his shot of alcohol before walking over to Misaki, knowing that every single one of them were looking at him.

Misaki wriggled away from Tora as she saw Usui approaching out of decency and civility. Usui reached them, "Can I talk to you for a bit?" He asked her.

Misaki nodded. Usui turned but before he walked towards the terrace, he heard her say, "You know I need to, I can't ignore this forever."

"I know, you don't need to ask for my permission." Tora replied.

"I'm not, I'm just telling you because I know you're worried." She replied before standing up and following Usui outside. "I'll be fine." She said before leaning down to give him a reassuring kiss that was out of Usui's view.

* * *

Once outside, there was an akward air around them and Usui was the one who broke the silence. "So, how have you been?"

Misaki played with the flowers in the pot. "I'm good—great, actually. I don't know if you heard but I've achieved my goal of becoming a diplomat." She smiled. "I'm not really that well-known yet but I'm aiming to make a name for myself." Misaki said. "What about you? Heard you're a doctor now. That's amazing."

Usui nodded but after a long pause, he couldn't beat around the bush anymore. "Are you happy?" He asked vaguely but he knew she understood.

Misaki smiled and Usui watched her while she spoke. "Yes, I really am." She replied simply. "We should really talk about this, shouldn't we?" She turned to him. "Do you remember why I studied so hard to become who I am now?"

"Because you wanted to prove that we deserved to be together." Usui honestly said. Misaki nodded.

"That's right. That was the main purpose." She said. "I supported you wholeheartedly when you went to England because I knew you needed to go. When it got harder to communicate, I knew that I needed to get you back."

Usui nodded. "I heard you went to England to get me but I never really saw you there at all." Usui said because he knew she was there but they never saw each other.

"Yes, you didn't. I guess I didn't try hard enough to get you back." Misaki ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. "I even enlisted the help of Igarashi and his friends to teach me how to become a person who can be at the same level as you so I'm ready when I get there."

"So that's how it started with you two then?" Usui continued to pry. Misaki laughed a little bit at that.

"No. God, no. I hated his guts, you know that." Misaki told him honestly. "But he helped me try to get you back and when I failed, he was there offering his help again. He knew how much I loved you—"

Usui flinched a little bit. _Loved. _Past tense.

"—and he was willing to help me get you back over and over again. He's annoying but he does whatever he puts his mind into." Misaki told him. "I wanted to wait for you, I did and I knew you expected me to." She said.

"I didn't—"

"No, you did. I can see it even now—just with us talking, I feel it, Usui." Misaki said straightforwardly. "Before, I kept imagining what would have happened if you didn't take that flight to England. I guess we would have been happy too." She reached for his hand and Usui finally noticed a silver, diamon-studded ring on her finger. "But I'm happy now too, Usui. I really am. It must look like Tora and I hate each others guts—at least from what I'm hearing from the others—but I'm happy with him."

Usui took her hand and stared at the ring. "You're married?"

Misaki gazed down at her left hand. "Not yet but soon, we've been planning it for months now and he wants to hold it during sakura season. He likes to be dramatic, the idiot." She laughed. Usui smiled and let go of her hand.

"Is he taking good care of you?" He asked, it was the most important thing for him after all. Misaki nodded in reply. Usui understood. "I'm glad you're happy. You don't know how much your happiness means to me." He told her. Misaki nodded.

She reached out to touch his arm. "I'm sorry."

Usui shook his head. "You shouldn't be sorry, it's no one's fault, really. Maybe it's just not meant to be for us, huh?" He said with a sad smile.

Misaki was about to say something else when Igarashi turned up. "Misaki." He said, not even trying to be discreet. Misaki sighed, glaring at Tora which made him walk away.

"He's really such a child. Sorry for that." Misaki apologized. "I still want to be friends though, if that's okay with you." She said.

"I'm sure it will be but I think I'd like to keep my distance for now. I'm sorry." Usui replied. Misaki nodded in understanding.

"Of course. I'll be back inside but call me if you need me for something." She said before turning and walking away. She looked back at him, hesitated for a bit before deciding that she should definitely go and find Tora.

Usui would have said that he needed her for sure. He needed her to be back in his life and to be with him again but seeing how she was, indeed, happy with Tora, who was he to mess with the life she has now?

* * *

"So how did it go?" Tora asked coldly and Misaki huffed in reply to his attitude.

"Would you stop that, if you think that I'm going to throw myself at him then I don't think you know me well enough." Misaki told him off. Tora rubbed his face with his hand and sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry but I can't help but worry because I know how much he meant to you." Tora replied.

Misaki took his hand and Tora immediately went and played with the ring on her finger. "If I'm going to be totally honest with you, he still means a lot to me. He was a big part of my life and without him, we wouldn't be here right now, together." She said.

Tora agreed with her at that one. "You don't love him still, do you?"

She punched him in the arm. "If you're going to be like that, I swear to god I will walk back out there and elope with Usui." She threatened.

Tora laughed. "You wouldn't." He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "You love me too much now that you won't even imagine a life without me." He boasted.

"You're too full of yourself, Igarashi." Misaki replied, ignoring his kisses on her cheek.

Tora stopped with his antics and stared at Misaki eye to eye. "You do love me, right?"

Misaki snorted. "After 5 years of actually putting up with all your flaws? What do you think?" She laughed but stopped when she saw how serious he was. "You didn't force me to be with you, Tora, I chose to be with you. Stop worrying, we're getting married for goodness' sake." She reminded him.

Tora laughed a little at that and draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close to him and ruffling her short hair. "You're right. Thank god we're getting married." He said before pulling her in for a kiss.

* * *

A few days later, Usui found himself at a local bar shop, away from Maid Latte or Butler Cafe. He also found himself drinking with Shirokawa, the well-known leader of the idiot trio. Shiroyan watched as Usui observed the environment.

"So, what really got into you to call me for a drink?" Shirokawa asked, after the pleasantries and the general catching up has been made.

Usui laughed slightly at that. "I met someone the other day, it was good to see her again."

"It was Misa-chan, wasn't it?" Shirokawa supplied. Usui nodded simply. "That's tough, man." He said.

"It was. I pried about her relationship with Igarashi and I think I've just seen the life that could have been for us." Usui replied, alcohol made him talkative all the time.

"I guess she told you she's getting married? I wasn't there for the opening of her shop, I think I missed out on a lot." Shiroyan said.

Usui drank another shot, "She used to want all that with me before; talking about being a diplomat to prove her worth, then settling down with a business so she won't be bored. But now she's doing it with another person." He said.

Shiroyan nodded, "What do you plan on doing now?" He asked.

Usui's gaze was long and faraway as he said, "She's happy now, so I'm not even planning on getting her back. In a way, I'm glad that this is how it turned out for us."

Shiroyan raised a glass for him, "You'll be fine, Usui. I'm sure you will." He said as they toasted and drank the night away.

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**A/N: **It's really not something special, I just don't want my fic writing to turn rusty and I think it's slowly starting to accumulate rust now. Haha. Anyway, it's a sad thing but I hope you liked it even just for a little bit. :)

Inspired by A1's song: "The Life That Could Have Been".


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